Pity Party
by luxayre
Summary: Let's just say that Nene had envisioned her first week at university a bit differently. She had also expected to be run over by princely figures. At her first party as a university student, she doesn't find a prince, but a wolf instead. University AU


In the first week of her first semester at university Nene Yashiro put up with a lot. She moved into the dorm that she shared with her best friend, Aoi Akane. She also endured the many love confessions said best friend would receive every day. And she suffered through the disappointment of not having found a boyfriend yet. It has always been her dream to find a prince-like boyfriend who would adore her and care for her - not that it was that realistic, she's been told. Apparently a girlfriend with swollen ankles - it's what she told people nowadays, her ankles have always been fat - wasn't exactly on everyone's bucket list. Nene liked to think it didn't bother her so much anymore and that her self-worth should come from her achievements, but she still ended up looking at herself in the mirror and wondering whether white knee-high socks made her ankles look fatter than black socks.  
She was pondering exactly that when Aoi knocked on her door and entered without waiting for Nene to ask her to.  
"Nene-chan! Did you hear, there- are you looking at your ankles again?" Aoi stopped dead in her tracks on her way over to her self-conscious friend. Nene turned around and sheepishly scratched the back of her head.  
"Yeah... I guess I am. I just can't help it, Aoi-chan. I wish I had slender legs like you", she sighed. Of course Nene was envious of her friend's nice legs. Aoi had been the most popular girl at school and it didn't look like that status would change at university, either.  
"Oh, Nene-chan... You have plenty of other really good features about you." Aoi walked over to her friend in front of the mirror. She stood behind her and lifted Nene's hair. Then she let it fall and it glided through her fingers in a grey and teal wave. She also gently lifted Nene's arms to show her what slender arms she had.  
"Look at you, Nene-chan. You have gorgeous hair, a great figure, and an adorable face. Why would you dwell on an insult from a pubescent boy who's been looking at too many porn magazines?" Nene giggled and turned to Aoi. With her gentle hands she went to hug her friend.  
"Yeah... yeah, you're right. Thanks, Aoi-chan" Both looked at each other and Nene wanted to say something sentimental but Aoi was a second faster.  
"Right! I almost forgot why I even came here!", she yelled and pulled at her purple locks, "There's a party tonight! It's gonna be full of other students. Maybe even prince-like boys?" Nene looked at her as if she had just hit her with a pan.  
"Aoi, no. This week was crazy and now you want me to attend a party? People will laugh about my ankles!", she cried and sat on her nicely made bed. Aoi sighed, moved a bunch of plush figures aside and sat next to her hopeless friend.  
"Okay, look. Akane and Lemon really wanna go, and I kinda wanna go too. I don't think I'd be okay if he and Yamabuki decided to get together for real this time", she muttered and looked at her nails.  
"Eh? Aoi-chan, could it be? Are you jealous?", Nene giggled with a knowing expression on her face. In an instant, Aoi's face became a dark red colour which struck Nene as a) proof of her feelings for Akane, and b) unhealthy.  
"I can't marry him! I can't be Aoi Aoi, that's stupid!", Aoi burst out, slamming one of Nene's beloved plush figures on the bed. She looked darkly at Nene who had started giggling before she began laughing at her friend.  
"I think", Nene gasped for air, "You should take it slow and see how it goes."  
"Ugh, whatever! Come on, let's get all dolled up for tonight!"

Hours went by. Everyone who passed the girls' room heard the happiest giggling they'd ever hear in a student dorm. The girls spent their evening painting each other's nails and fixing their hair. In the end, both of them looked way too good for a freshman party. When Akane and Lemon knocked on their door, they started yelling in panic before Nene jumped on her feet and ripped open the door. Both boys looked at her, looked at each other, shrugged, and greeted her.  
"Hi Nene! You look nice!", Lemon said and lifted his hand. Nene blushed a bit and beamed at them while she thanked Lemon and let them in.  
"Ah, Aoi! Please go out with me!" When she turned she saw Akane kneeling in front of a blushing Aoi who sprayed some hairspray on her hair. She was dressed in a black ruffled skirt and a pink blouse that complimented the blush on her face perfectly. She sharply inhaled the hairspray when she noticed Akane to her feet and promptly started coughing.  
"Yeah, how about we just go?", Lemon said and facepalmed.

When the group arrived at the party, Nene was massively done with her life. Akane was even worse than usual. Because there would be many rivals, as he put it, he'd have to keep an especially close eye on Aoi. Lemon just tagged along wherever Akane went who went wherever Aoi went. Nene sighed, this would be a very long evening if she couldn't find anyone to talk to. Aoi seemed to be very preoccupied and she wanted to give her the chance to maybe give Akane a chance. After all, she had been rooting for him and his undying love for her. She thought it was very romantic and charming, and wished someone would love her like that, too. Deep in her thoughts she stumbled along to the definitely spiked punch. She took one of the prefilled glasses and turned to make space for the next person. The next person happened to stand exactly where Nene was going and she walked right into his chest. Startled she backed away and almost walked into yet another person. The boy in front of her grabbed her hand and pulled her a step closer so she wouldn't actually hit another.  
"Ah, I'm so sorry!", she said quickly, not daring to look at the boy, "And also, thank you!" She wanted to quickly flee and drink more than just that one glass to forget her embarrassing first party at university. Nene had only taken a step when the mysterious stranger stood in her way again.  
"Can I have your name before you go?", she heard him say with a melodious voice. Finally she dared to look up. The boy in front of her was a bit taller than she was in her heels. His black hair was tousled and looked a bit like a bed head.  
"Eh?", she only said and blankly stared at him. This guy was so not her type.  
"Ah, sorry! I'm Amane Yugi", he quickly added and grinned at her. Oh well, Nene thought. She wanted company, anyone would do, right?  
"I'm Nene Yashiro", she smiled back at him. He gestured for them to make space for others and led her to the wall where many people were standing and talking.  
"Are you a freshman, too?", Nene tried to feed the conversation. Small talk has never been a strength of hers. The boy looked blankly at her before breaking out yet another grin. She had a feeling she'd see many of his grins this evening. Somehow she really didn't mind, he seemed to be quite upbeat, at least. Nothing could be worse than a killjoy at her first party at university.  
"Yeah, actually I am. My major is aerospace engineering", Amane said happily while pointing to the NASA print on his shirt. He looked really proud of himself for making that connection. Nene couldn't help but smile.  
"I'm a literature major", she offered, a bit offended that he didn't ask her himself. Oh well, he probably forgot? He seemed like the type of guy to forget manners.  
"Did you come here with friends?", she asked. The grin on his face faded.  
"Um, I came with my twin brother, but he left me, like, 3 hours ago. I was scared I'd have to spend the evening alone so I'm super glad I found you!", he answered. The smile crept back on his face as he looked at her. He was intrigued by her. Her hair glistened in the weirdly coloured light and her red eyes dared him to try and come closer. He was pretty sure she wasn't as docile as she tried to appear. Her skirt was short and tight and her heels were the tiniest bit too high for him to think of her as docile and quiet.  
"Aw", she sighed, " I can relate! I came with my friends from school but since my best friend is a men magnet I kind of lost them. I thought I could go and drown my sorrow in alcohol but luckily I bumped into you!" Nene took a sip to give her words a truth factor but the punch was more like straight vodka with a bit of punch flavour and she made a face. Amane looked at his drink, took a sip, and shrugged.  
"Here", he offered and exchanged her glass with his, "I think you got a prefilled one there. I saw them mess up the alcohol ratio. Mine isn't as strong. If you don't mind indirect kisses." He grinned at her and she felt like she was looking at a wolf in sheep's clothing. Oh, how smooth, how actually nice of him. Blushing, she took a sip from Amane's glass and looked at him. Sheepishly he looked away with a hand in his neck. She wasn't sure whether he was blushing really hard as well or if it was this coloured light tinting the whole room in a soft red. He turned back to her and leaned onto the wall. She actually took his bait. Wow. She definitely wasn't as much of a good girl as she tried to look like. Her eyes sparkled, a bit unsure maybe, but defiant and strong. He couldn't help his heart skip a beat when he looked into her eyes.  
"How nice of you, Yugi-kun", she cooed with a sly grin on her face. Well, maybe he wasn't her type, but who cares, right? She couldn't deny the attraction she felt towards him. Nene had only known him for a few minutes but she was sure she'd be thinking about him all night and possibly all of the nights she had left. She took a look at him again. He was leaning on the wall and she admired his broad shoulders. When he caught her staring he winked at her, a flash of gold and sunset in her mind. Nene gasped and leaned closer to him.  
"You have really pretty eyes!", she blurted out and grabbed his arm to tug his head lower so she could take a closer look. Amane blushed the deepest red that definitely wasn't caused by the reddish lighting.  
"My, Nene-chan, have you already found your prince?" Aoi was standing in front of them, holding onto Akane's arm. Lemon was nowhere to be seen. Embarrassed, Nene backed away from Amane and let him go.  
"Aoi-chan! What a coincidence to see you here!", she laughed hysterically and waved with her free arm. Aoi's sly face was scaring her a bit.  
"Ah, right, may I introduce you to A-Amane Yugi?", she half yelled and pointed at him, "His major is aerospace engineering! Isn't that cool? Aoi-chan?" Nene's rambling ended and she looked between all of them frantically. Oh, how embarrassing. Couldn't they have butted in when they were talking normally? No, of course not, it was just Nene's luck. Next to her Amane stirred and waved to greet her friends.  
"Hey everyone. I guess you're her friends?", he said, smiling a very docile smile. Oh, she thought, he is quite the actor. No one would see him for the wolf he is.  
"Yeah, I'm Aoi, this is Akane", Aoi said, slowly turning away from the beet red Nene, who would've loved to hide her face. Akane nodded at Amane who returned the gesture.  
"We actually went to fetch Nene so we could play some truth or dare. Care to tag along?" Nene didn't miss the mischievous sparkle in her friend's eyes. Please, she thought, say no, Amane. Don't get caught up in her games. But Amane shrugged.  
"Sure, if you don't mind me?" Oh my god, Nene yelled inside. Amane didn't notice her inner turmoil and grinned at her. Yeah, Nene thought, what else would he do but grin at her?

They were all sitting in a circle on the floor, avoiding the little puddles of spilled punch. Aoi had made sure that Amane sat across from Nene. Amane tried looking at Nene to encourage her but eye contact seemed to fluster her even more, so he gave up. Nene was using up as little space as she could and clutched her drink between both hands. Aoi sat right next to her, a mean sparkle in her eyes. Of course Aoi loved Nene like a sister but she couldn't resist teasing her when it came to boys.  
"Alright, next!", someone yelled and spun the bottle. Because Nene has never had any luck, the bottle stopped pointing at her. Aoi let out a delighted squeal.  
"Truth or dare?", she cooed and looked intently at Nene.  
"Tru-", Nene started, hoping to avoid the worst, but was rudely interrupted by Aoi.  
"Dare? Okay. I dare you to...", she began, scanning the circle of playing students until her eyes landed on Amane. A sinsiter smile spread on her lovely face which sent shivers down Nene's spine.  
"I dare you", Aoi repeated all high and mighty, "to spend seven minutes in the closet with Yugi-kun!" In one gulp, Nene downed her drink and slammed the glass on the floor. She couldn't look at Amane, who received encouraging pats on his back accompanied by jealous looks. He had a sheepish and shy expression and did his best to keep it that way. Amane tried to look as relaxed as he could as he got up and opened the door to the tiniest (and fullest!) closet he has ever seen. Just his luck, getting to be super close to the cute girl he had just met. He was high-fiving himself mentally.  
Nene was horrified and also got up, trudging in his direction. Aoi dared to give her a slap on the butt and make a kissy face. Nene's look could have killed an army instantly and Aoi sat back down cautiously. She made the mistake of looking at Amane who was holding open the door for her to enter first. His eyes had taken on the colour of molten gold and she didn't miss how strongly he gripped the door. Ah well, she thought, that means I'm not the only one who's nervous. But in fact, Amane wasn't only nervous, but exhilarated as well. The door closed after them and Nene fumbled to find the light switch. Her fingers found a shoulder, a neck, and a head before they finally grasped the cord switch. The instant she could see him, she pulled at the cord to make it dark again. They were standing chest to chest, encircled by beverage crates. If she looked straight ahead she was met with the upper half of the NASA print on Amane's shirt just a few inches away from her face. Amane chuckled and she could almost feel his chest rise against hers.  
"What was that?", he asked, still gently laughing. His fingers slid up her arm, found her hand, and tugged at it to turn on the light again. Nene was looking away, blushing furiously. In this light he could actually see the blush for what it was. It was a bit like waking up for him, to be able to see her in real colours and not tinted in red light. Nene murmured something, too quiet for him to hear.  
"What did you say?", he asked and leaned closer without thinking. Nene turned to repeat herself but stopped when their noses almost met. Abruptly Amane straightened and looked away. Okay, alright, he thought, he sure got into quite the dangerous situation here. Nene cleared her throat.  
"I'm sorry", she repeated as composed as she could, "It's my fault. Aoi goes crazy when it's about a boy and me. Sorry to ruin your night like this, Yugi-kun." Amane turned back to her.  
"Amane."  
"Huh?"  
"Please call me Amane, okay?", he said, and added after a second: "I mean, I've never been so close to a girl before so it would be stupid if she called me by my last name, don't you think?" Nene nodded.  
"Then call me Nene, okay?", she beamed up at him and he returned the smile.  
"Oi!", someone - definitely Aoi, Nene thought - banged their fist on the door and yelled: "I don't hear anything but talking! I'm gonna reset the clock to seven minutes again!"  
"Oh my god", Nene sighed and hid her face in her hands, "I'm so sorry!" Amane started laughing softly, set his arm on a crate next to him and rested his head on his hand.  
"I have a feeling it's not gonna get boring with you. I like that." Nene looked at him. Her bashful expression made him melt a bit. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt.  
"We don't have to, you know, do anything", he told her with a small smile on his face.  
"Yeah, I guess... I mean we already indirectly kissed so what's the deal, right", she rambled hysterically.  
"Oh, if that's the case", he said with a blank expression and leaned closer to her again.  
"On second thought!", she burst out and he started laughing.  
"It was a joke", he reassured her, but didn't miss the second of disappointment on her face. His expression grew soft and Nene couldn't help but stare at the everchanging colour of his eyes.  
"You're totally my type", he confessed and grinned at her sheepish expression.  
"Well, you", Nene started and took a deep breath, "You are kinda my type too..." Amane had meant to tease Nene, but somehow he played himself. He was torn inside. On one hand, he really wanted to kiss her, but on the other hand, he didn't so she wouldn't think of him as a player or someone shallow.  
"By the way", he tried changing the topic, "I thought it was hilarious how you downed that drink back there. I'll get you a new one later, okay? I somehow feel responsible." Nene giggled. Oh right, she had done that earlier.  
"Oh well, I couldn't help it", she said, slightly bouncing on her feet. She was swinging around, coming closer to Amane and then moving away again. It was driving him insane. How yould she move so much in a space as small as this godforsaken closet? She bounced especially lively against a tower of crates that started wobbling dangerously. Amane slapped a hand on the crates to keep them from falling on both of them, leaning over Nene to secure the crates again. She sunk down and made herself as small as she could, but Amane had to strain and push himself up with one hand next to her head. When he was done he settled back on his feet and noticed how red Nene's face was.  
"Sorry", he whispered. She looked up at him and shook her head.  
"Thank you! I don't think a bruise would've made my first week of university that much better", she grinned up at him. He returned her smile.  
"Yeah, I guess that's true", he said, and added: "Do you maybe wanna get some coffee together?" A date? This would be her first date ever. She shyly nodded.  
"Awesome" When she looked at him, he had that wolfish expression again.  
"I'd really like to kiss you", he suddenly said, surprising himself. He told himself it was definitely the alcohol he had taken from Nene earlier. She blushed a deep red and couldn't quite believe her ears. This guy, who was kinda her type, whom she had known about an hour now, was flirting with her. His face was dusted pink, just like her's, when they heard Aoi yell: "You've got a minute left!" Nene flinched and, before her brain could take back the command, threw her arms around Amane's neck.  
"It's gonna be my first kiss, though", Nene confessed and tugged him a bit closer. Amane's heart did a somersault and he leaned down, carefully setting his hands around her waist.  
"That's okay", he whispered, his face barely an inch from her's, "You're my first kiss, too."  
And with that their lips met for a sweet and gentle kiss. Amane didn't know what to do with his hands so he linked them at the small of her back. His brain didn't really work and he was sure it wasn't just the alcohol. He was also sure that somehow he must've been the luckiest guy on earth, getting to spend fourteen minutes in the tiniest closet with the cutest girl ever. And apparently, she liked him, too. She definitely wasn't your typical good girl, he was sure of it now.  
Nene felt his terribly soft hair under her fingers and couldn't resist playing with it a bit. She could feel him relax into her touch and she felt him tug her closer, making them stand with their chests touching. It was like a dream for her. Maybe this wasn't the prince-like boyfriend she had waited for. Maybe she wasn't Cinderella, waiting for a prince. Maybe she was Red Riding Hood, falling in love with the wolf.  
They parted and Amane rested his forehead on hers. They looked at each other, both clearly embarrassed but smiling nontheless.  
"I think I just fell in love", Amane confessed and chuckled.  
"Wait 'till you get to know her for real before you go telling her that", they heard someone speak. Nene and Amane burst apart with a start, nearly knocking down a bunch of crates. She was hiding her face in her hands to avoid seeing Aoi and the others. Lemon, who apparently was the one who had opened the door, grinned at them. Aoi was making joyful leaps, hugging Akane in delight. Amane took a look at the people outside, then at Nene, who was looking at him through her fingers. Then he grinned at Lemon and the others, grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it shut again. Hysteric squealing and cheering could be heard from outside, but Amane stroked Nene's hair away from her face. She was still blushing like crazy but couldn't help the big smile that was creeping onto her face.  
"I'd rather stay in here with you", he confessed, grinning that wolf in sheep's clothing grin she had come to love.  
"Yeah, me too", she smiled sweetly and pulled him down for another kiss.


End file.
